Tuesday, 3rd March 2015

Daily nuggets of inspiration from the good folk at Elmwood.

Valentine’s Day saw Swipe Right, a romantic hotel package, being offered by W Hotels to those interested in finding love or perhaps something a little more casual. This romantic hotel package builds off of the popularity of dating apps and appeals to those who are familiar with Tinder, Hinger, Grindr or 3nder. (Thanks to matchmaker Julie)

For lovers of Tinder, Hinger and 3nder, this ‘romantic’ package deal provided everything a girl, or guy, could need for a fun and flirty fling. Makeovers by GLAMSQUAD. Headshots for your dating profile. Limb-loosening cocktails and a stay in a luxurious W Hotel suite. Because, of course, there ain’t nothing wrong with a little bump ‘n’ Grindr.

It’s official. The days of lingering suggestively over your lingerie at the laundrette are well and truly over. As is having to dash to the dry cleaner in an already overloaded day. Right now, it’s all about the locker, and 24/7 laundry services.

This American concept has made its way to Amsterdam, where new venture Bubble&Stitch offers text message ordering, app notifications and swipe card payments on its laundry lockers. (Tidy tip-off, Damo.)

So you simply drop off your dirties, send a text and wait to hear when it’s all ready for collection. You can even get your shirts pressed and your buttons re-sewn while you’re at it. Plus they send out a free laundry bag with your first order to make carting your stinky kecks around more sanitary.

Better yet, Bubble&Stitch use only eco-friendly detergents. So, great news for asthmatic and aquatic creatures alike.

What were you doing this time last week? Weeping onto your woefully empty doormat? Proudly parading a posy around the office? Or simply keeping your head down till the commercial kack-cascade was over? If you’re in the wine or sweetie business you were probably counting your tooth-stainingly sweet profits.

Seeing as the consumption of confectionary and corked alcohol takes a massive surge on Valentine’s Day, what better way to cash in on the tradition than to combine the two? That’s just what Union Wine Co. Wines and QUIN Candy have done, in a joint, artisanal, all-natural sweet shop.

Their collaboration has produced delicious results, such as a grapefruity, pear-and-peachy, booze-infused Pinot Gris lollypop. And a Pinot Noir popsicle that floods your palate with cherry, blackberry and a splash of cola. Yum. And no doubt providing lots of lovely lolly all round.

It’s well known that our sense of smell affects the subtleties of taste. You need agood bouquet to avoid blandness. And blandness is something to make any tasteful fashion house bring up its bellini.

Parfums Givenchy invite us to explore the limits of their aromatic world in a cocktail collaboration with Hotel Café Royal. Their new season collection of scent-inspired concoctions is, in the true spirit of fashion, soon to expire, available only until late March.

Devotees of L’Atelier de Givency fragrances, fashion and fine spirits alike can recline in contemporary bohemian splendour, sipping something that’s come ‘from the fashion studios to the perfumers’ lab to the mixologist’s bar – from exquisite fabrics to precious ingredients’. Will you be seduced by the mystery of a Chypre Caresse, succumb to the dangerous allure of an Ambre Tigré, or indulge in a Néroli Originel? They’re guaranteed to taste as good as they smell.

Point. Pout. Publish. The ubiquitous selfie has influenced how we see ourselves, and how we allow others to see us too, just as much as social media has transformed our lives. All this pixel-pushing narcissism is having an insidious effect on what it means to be human, and Reebok are determined to help us get a bit more real again.

Their multi-channel Be More Human campaign aims to redress the image of what is beautiful and authentic. As well as a quiz to establish your level of ‘humanness’, the #breakyourselfie initiative challenges exercise enthusiasts to test the limits of their physical abilities and personal vanity. An online album shows everyday athletes mid-grunt, grimace and gasp, in all their crashed-out, post-workout glory. The idea is to showcase the hard work and achievement, not an auto-enhanced piece of perfected self-promotion.

In the pre-digital age, T.S. Eliot wrote, “Humankind cannot bear very much reality.” But then he probably wasn’t much into ‘feeling the burn’.